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Cell antenna not pleasing to eye

March 27, 2012 | 6:41 p.m.

On Sept. 21, 2011, the City Council voted, 3-2, to enact an ordinance that allows the placement of wireless cellphone equipment in single-family residential areas as long as the equipment is in, or on, institutional buildings such as churches or schools and as long as a conditional use permit is granted

On Feb. 27, the city Planning Board voted to approve a permit giving T-Mobile the right to place its cellphone equipment on top of the Little White Chapel, 1711 N. Avon St. Since the Planning Board members stated that they were not allowed to base their decision on health or property devaluation concerns, they seemed mostly concerned that the structure housing the equipment would be “aesthetically pleasing.”

Neighbors of the Little White Chapel do not consider a large box built on top of the church to house cellphone equipment to be aesthetically pleasing. We will have to live daily with health risks associated with exposure to radio frequency emissions and knowledge of devaluation of our properties. It will be considered an eyesore and constant reminder of the dangerous equipment it is hiding. We are appealing the Planning Board's decision.

Allowing T-Mobile to build its structure in our neighborhood is not desirable and will not improve the quality of our lives. The City Council needs to grant our appeal and enact a better ordinance that will protect Burbank neighborhoods from the encroachment of wireless cellphone structures.